


Lead Into Pyrite

by Professor Muscovite (floramei)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: ...And Sycamore bc while he hasn't ACTUALLY shown up yet he's kind of the opposing romantic lead lol, F/M, more will be added as I get there but I'm only tagging who actually has shown up yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-18 22:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14861060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floramei/pseuds/Professor%20Muscovite
Summary: Novelization of gen6, with a female OC replacing Calem. Small focus on battles/gameplay plot points, much larger focus on characterization and development of relationships etc.





	Lead Into Pyrite

**Author's Note:**

> Rewrite of my fic Calemine, which I'll be leaving up until I've finished posting this new one. Shouldn't have any major plot points change from one to the next, so may be spoilery, but hopefully I've gotten better at writing since 2013 when I started the old one lol.

The day Olivine arrived in Kalos, it was quite sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky. She was thankful for the pleasant weather as she helped her mother's Mienfoo move boxes into the new house, even if it could have been a _bit_ cooler. That was just what the south of Kalos was like, though, or at least Olive supposed as much. "Thanks, hon," Mom said to Olive as the latter hauled the last box up the stairs. "With your dad still at Bourgogne, I don't know if Fooey and I could do this without you."

Olive tried to wave her mother's praise away, while saying "Nah, it's fii _ii_ \--" In trying to do so, though, she had to readjust her hold on the cardboard box in her arms, and nearly lost her footing on the unfamiliar stairs. Without her mom there to stabilize Olive with a hand on her back, she would have taken a nasty tumble for sure. "Sorry, and thanks," Olive mumbled over her shoulder as she started slowly back up the stairs.

Mom-- or, rather, Arduenna, but even as an adult Olive found it hard to think of her as anything but 'Mom,' the proper noun-- chuckled behind Olive and said, "Honey, it's fine. Just don't get yourself killed doing something stupid now that you're finally back on the straight and narrow, okay?"  

It took a conscious effort on Olive 's part to not visibly cringe. Instead, she just said, "Yeah! Thanks!" loudly and made her way up to the attic's guest bedroom.

It wasn't _literally_ an attic, but the slant of the roof made it too small to put any more than a single room here, and with Mom's failing joints, she wasn't going to be doing much in here for the foreseeable future.

The middle-aged woman didn't exactly have a lot of sleepovers, either, so unless family came all the way from Unova, Orre, or Alola to visit, there weren't really likely to be many guests staying here, aside from Olive herself.

It didn't sound like Mom had actually changed her view of Olive much since Olivine had left for school two years ago, so hopefully Olive wouldn't have to stay here very long or very often.

Nudging the box Olive had just brought up across the floor until it was in line with the other few boxes of her things, she decided it probably wasn't worth unpacking the lot, even if it wasn't much. Not much could fit in a University of Unova dorm, and Olive had given Mom clearance to throw out anything she'd left behind. It wasn't like Olive hadn't lost a lot of things to moves before, after all. Being a military brat would do that to a person.

As Olive was walking down the stairs, the front door shut following her mother's apparent reentry into the house. "Oh, Olivine dear! Perfect timing, you've got a letter from the local professor! He's got _such_ nice handwriting, and I think the paper might even be perfumed? Oh, he seems like a catch--though I guess he might actually _be_ a fairy, rather than just helped rediscover them, with things like a perfumed letter. Oh, well."

There were entirely too many things going on with what her mother was saying and doing to respond coherently to anything, so Olive just snatched the letter from her mother's hand without more than a glare and read it herself.

 

> _Greetings, Olive !_
> 
>   * _I'm informed that you're participating in my Pokédex Program this year as part of an independent field work course for the University of Unova, and have applied to intern at my laboratory come spring semester. Please, stop by Sycamore Labs in Lumiose as soon as your journey brings you this far; until then, I am unfortunately unable to find the time to spare, so two of my Pokédex holders of previous years, who also hail from the Aquacorde area, will meet you and your Vaniville-based compatriots in Aquacorde with your selection of Starter Pokémon. I look forward to meeting you, mon amie, and fare well!_
> 

> 
> _~Professor Augustine Sycamore_

At least there wasn't anything embarrassing in the mail Mom opened this time, though Olive wondered if that was even illegal here in Kalos. On base where her dad was, down by Kiloude, sure; that was, for all intents and purposes, Unova soil. But here? No, Olive had neglected to read up on anything but even the most broad view of the legal system. Even then, she only looked to make sure that Pokémon battles laws were what she remembered from her teens, and for the most part she was correct.

As Olive stood reading the letter, Mom took an audible sniff and turned to Olive . "Oh, honey, you _stink!_ I know you need to get started on your journey as soon as possible, but at least go take a shower before you do. My treat, it's my fault for making you bring in all the boxes!" Whether Mom was above charging utility usage for taking a shower was up for debate, but it was clear the woman at least _meant_ for it to be a joke by the way she laughed as she waved off Olive .

It was easier to just bend to Mom when she was being like this... but on the other hand, that would give her more opportunity to weedle things out of Olive , so she shrugged and said, "Look, you read my _personal_ letter, so you know that the other trainers are gonna be waiting for me. Dunno if you remember, but you _tend_ to get a little hot and sweaty when you walk a whole region, it's fine." Without waiting for her mother to respond, she turned and walked out the front door.

Aaand hit a young girl in the face with it.

"Sorry, sorry!" Olive said hurriedly, once she'd realized what had happened. "Are you okay?"

"By nobe," the girl said-- the shorter of two, actually, and evidently the one who'd been hit. Both were clearly in their early or at most mid-teens, making Olive feel even a bit worse about hurting not just a stranger but a _kid_.

Making sure to leave enough room for the door to swing open this time, Olive ushered the girls into the house and followed them in, saying, "Coming through Mom, minor injury! Do we have any ice?"

Instead of answering or even turning around, Mom said loudly, "See? This wouldn't have happened if you'd listened to me and taken that shower."

Olive rolled her eyes, just moving forward to find the kitchen. Mom had plugged in the refridgerator a while ago, but the water in the trays inside the freezer portion were just starting to crystalize. "Cold water will have to do I guess?"

Both of the girls shrugged, the shorter one still holding her nose.

Once the makeshift cold pack was made and applied, Olive sat down at the kitchen table across from the girls and said, "Sorry about that, really. Uh, any chance you two are the other League challengers this year?"

They both nodded emphatically, and the taller blonde answered, "Yes, that's right. I'm Serena, your neighbor." Serena smiled and nodded.

Removing the cold pack, thedark haired girl wiggled her nose experimentally for a moment, then said, "And I'm Shauna! It's super nice to meet you, ah...?"

"Olive ," our protagonist answered, "and I'm... a little surprised to hear that, given the accidental door-assault."

With a chuckle, Shauna said, "Nah, that's fine! I mean sure it hurts, like, _physically_ , but it's an accident. No sense blaming you for something you didn't mean."

Olive shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds right."

Meanwhile, Serena looked between the two other girls. "Really? I--” She the stopped herself, and held comments from the other two with a raised hand and an intake of breath. “Nevermind. If Shauna’s okay, I won’t say she’s wrong.”

It took Olive a few moments to process that, and another to know that she _didn't_ know what to say to that. "So, uh, what brings you girls here, then?" Olive said instead.

"Oh, that's easy!" Shauna said, "Professor Sycamore's uh-- I'm not sure actually if they're his employees or what, but they have the starter case and are ready in Aquacorde and had your address but not your phone number-- or, hey, do you have a Holo Caster? Nah, I guess they've only even just come out in Kalos, and you're from another region, aren't you? Yeah so-- we didn't have your phone number to tell you where in Aquacorde you should go, or even knew if you got the letter they apparently sent yesterday because they didn't notice until pretty late that it was finally edited into your application I think it was, and--"

Head spinning, Olive interrupted, "Slow down, Shauna, I can't follow that fast..."

"Sorry!" Shauna said, then looked at Serena.

The blonde chuckled, and said,  "We didn't have your phone number, but we did have your address. Whenever you're ready to leave, we can accompany you to Aquacorde. Or not, if you'd prefer we wait there while you get ready?"

Olive took a breath before she said, "Are you going to tell me I need a shower too?" She shook her head, but conitnued before Serena could answer. "Look, it won't be noticable outside. We can split up, that's fine, I don't care, but no need to dilly-dally here just for something that literally doesn't matter."

Serena nodded, and stood up from her chair. "So it's settled, we'll go now."

The three made their way out of the kitchen, disposing of the cold pack on the way, and outside-- though not before Mom could say, "Have fun out there, and try not to fall off the wagon again!"

"To what?" Shauna asked once they were outside.

Serena pointedly looked anywhere but at Olive .

"Ah," Olive said, trying to think fast. "Just a family joke, I fell off one of those autumn hayrides they do in Unova when I was a kid, because-- well, I was being a dumb kid, you know, leaning way too far off the edge. Broke my arm even! Can't really see anymore but--" Olive curled her arms up and inward, attempting to hold each shoulder in the same side hand. Her left arm could grasp her corresponding shoulder entirely, but her right arm could only barely touch the shoulder with the tips of her fingers. "The bone healed a bit weird, I guess! But yeah, that's all it is, she's just saying 'don't be stupid,' haha."

Shauna tilted her head to the side as she thought. "Ah! And here I was, worried you were alcoholic. That would _really_ suck."

Suddenly stifling a cough, Olive said, "Yup! For sure."

After a moment of awkward silence, Serena said, "It looks like we've arrived."

"Already?" Olive blinked and looked back at the hundred yards of Route 1 they'd passed through. "Why even call them separate towns, at that point?"

Shauna shrugged and said, "I mean, most of the folks who live there are pretty rich. Serena and her Rhyhorn-racing mom, pretty sure Trevor's dad lives there and... I dunno, has some kind of underground laboratory? I mean it's no Parfum Palace or anything but everyone I've met who lives there is like, _wow_."

Olive snorted a laugh. "And then there's me." Though her dad _was_ a Colonel, and her mom had said there was a possibility they'd waive the age requirement for him to be promoted to Brigadier General... while this seemed reasonable enough, knowing her father, she also couldn't deny that her mother was _probably_ not the most reliable source of this kind of information.

At any rate, Serena and Shauna were sitting down at a large outdoor table, where two boys were already sitting.

"Hey there!" Olive said, joinging them. She looked around at the table, and nodding at the glass-lidded Pokéball case, added, "So, you're the ones the Prof sent?"

The thicker of the two boys nodded, and said, "Yup! I'm Tierno, and it's nice to meetcha, League Challenger! By the way, do you have a name I could call you, or should I just call you Challenger this whole time?"

Laughing, Olive said, "Olivine Muscovy, at your service. I prefer just Olive , though."

Tierno reached over the entire table to clap Olive on the shoulder. "Done and done, dude! Though what kind of name is Olivine?"

Olive snorted a laugh and shrugged, then turned to the slimmer boy, who had a helmet of red hair obscuring his features. "And you?" she asked.

He took a breath, then stuck his hand out with the palm to the side, in what Olive assumed was an invitation to shake hands. "I'm Trevor," he said, loudly enough, though didn't make eye contact. With a shrug, Olive took the hand to shake it, which prompted Trevor to continue. "I believe that is the customary greeting in Unova? I'm sorry if I presented poorly."

"Nah, you're fine," Olive said. "I wouldn't call it 'customary,' but I'd bet you like to be a bit formal all the time, right? With that vest? Or-- is that a Kalosian culture thing I'm not getting?"

Trevor shook his head. "No, you're correct. I prefer to present myself in my best light as often as humanly possible."

Nodding, Olive said, "Then you're golden. Hand-shaking is pretty formal, but it sounds like that works for you. So you're right on the money."

Trevor grinned and nodded at her. "That's good to hear."

It was at this point that Olive finally noticed how much Shauna had been tapping her leg, drumming her fingers, any kind of fidget that she could do-- mostly because Shauna abruptly stopped all motion and hit the table with her palms. "Okay this is very cool but can we get the Pokémon now? I've been _dying_ to start this journey for, uh, pretty much ever--"

Tierno laughed. "Calm down, Shiny!" he said, "To be honest, I'm pretty antsy myself. When Trevs and Illy and I got ours last year, man... that was pretty much the coolest thing. I wanna see what it looks like from the other side of the case! One Pokémon each coming up for the dude and dudettes!"

As Shauna launched herself at the case practically before Tierno could look at it, Olive glanced between her companions. Shauna was wearing-- Olive literally couldn't even count how many bows there were on Shauna's outfit, and Serena was in a stylishly cut skirt and top that framed her well. Which left butch Olive , wearing a baggy old tee shirt -- evidently enough to hide her boobs -- with close-cropped hair, and significantly more muscle than any other non-sporting girl Olive had met.

"Tierno," Olive said, measuring her words. "You know I'm a girl, right." It wasn't a question so much as a statement of frustration.

"You are? Oh, I guess that explains the name, then. Sorry dude. ...Dudette."

With a shrug, Olivine took the only remaining Pokeball -- thankfully, Shauna had quickly chosen the fluffy fire-type Fennekin and Serena the energetic looking Froakie, leaving Olive with her preferred Grass type.  "To be fair," she said, "it's a silly name for a girl, too."

Shauna took a break from cooing over her foxy friend to say, "You seriously didn't notice? Jeeze, you guys are really blind sometimes."

Tierno laughed at that. “What can I say? I don’t look at the _stuff_ , the… face or whatever, I watch how folks _move_. Pronouns are easy, finding someone who can match me on the dance floor? That’s the hard part.” He then winked in Olive ’s direction and added, “Still working on figuring you out.”

While Olive was trying to decide if Tierno was flirting with her or not, Trevor said, “At any rate, I have something for you all as well-- less exciting, perhaps, than Tierno’s, but will help you atually understand your new Pokémon on a much deeper level: the Pokédex.” He took the devices out of his case, indeed smaller than Tierno’s and less flashy, and handed one to each of the three girls. “All right, we’re going to need to register these to your Trainer IDs, let me show you how…”

Olive waved Trevor away to focus on the other girls, saying, “I’ve got this.”

“It’s no more trouble to have you watch--” Trevor started, but was interrupted.

“Really,” Olive said, and dug out her Pokédex from Hoenn. The case was battered and stained, and the model was clearly older than what Birch gave out these days. “This isn’t my first time around the block. Lemme tool around on my own for a bit, at least.”

If nothing else, Olive didn’t want to be a grown-ass adult twenty year old with a job and (some of) a college education being taught how to work her pokedex by a teenager, like some old geezer who’s about to flop over dead the moment you look away. No thanks.

And really, it _was_ simple enough. Evidently there were other sections to this Pokédex that were currently either locked or not yet installed, she couldn’t tell which; if it was the former, she couldn’t figure out how to jailbreak the device, either, but… then again, that probably wouldn’t be wise or sporting.

Olive was returned to reality by a tap on her shoulder. Trevor nodded to her, then looked across all three girls. “I know the League challenge is exciting,” he said, “but being a Pokédex holder is quite an honor. Yes, I know technically there are older versions on the market available to the populace at large, what you hold now are cutting-edge technology developed in conjunction with Fleur-de-Lis labs right here in Kalos. The Professor has, as such, asked you all to try to collect as much data as you can-- to catch as many Pokémon as you can. Of course, variety of species is the most consistent way to cover our bases-- three new data points for all that are available would probably be the ideal, but there’s no wrong answer. But catching Pokémon _at all_ is important-- a quest set out before you, perhaps. An important mission to further the cause of science.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, during which Trevor blinked and sat back down. “S-sorry, but the Professor did ask that I emphasize that fact.”

Just a moment more, then Tierno shook his head and clapped Trevor on the back. “Lighten up, Trevs! You’re _way_ too serious sometimes.” He wrapped his arm around Trevor’s shoulders and pulled the smaller boy in for a quick hug, then turned back to the new trainers. “Right, so I think that’s all we’ve got for you girls! If you don’t mind, we’re gonna tag along in a general sense. This summer’s our last before heading out to university and doing a...victory lap, I guess, sounded fun! Kinda relaxing, a trip without having to worry about catching everything and I can just work on my dance team.”

“Speak for yourself,” Trevor said, wiggling out of Tierno’s hug with a lopsided smile. “I will _absolutely_ be paying attention to the Pokédex, redoubling my efforts to find variations I have not acquired for the Professor yet, or multiple specimens of those that Mega Evolve to collect points on what similarities such Pokémon share…” Trevor raised his eyebrows and grinned wide. “I’ll be maintaining my team enough to progress, but the true competition you’ll get from me is the Pokédex progress.” He dug into his pocket, then, and produced a smaller Pokédex that lacked the pull-apart glass screen and holographics. “No worries, I bought myself a civvie model so I won’t have a head start on you or anything.”

Shauna nodded eagerly, and said, “All right, Trevs! Though I’m not really any better at-- uh, well, _anything_ than I was last year in Home Ec, haha. I’m just gonna be hanging on all of you guys’ coattails, hoping to have a good time along the way.”

At this, Serena put a finger to Shauna’s lips and said, “ _Shhh_ , don’t sell yourself short like that. You’re fantastic, Shauna, and I won’t hear of you saying otherwise.”

Perhaps a little late, Olive realized-- “Oh, uh, you four already know each other, don’t you?”

Serena nodded at this. “Not super well or anything, but we all go to the same school-- or, well, I guess _went to_ for these two,” she said, and gestured at the boys. “And they were our main contacts in getting approved for the program. Honestly, I’m a little surprised you’re here? The whole thing is very…” Serena looked to one side, as if she might find the right words there. “It’s less about what you know than who you know.”

Ah. “Yeah, that might do it. Mom’s not a Pokémon Professor or anything, but she’s a league researched, and uh… apparently UAF or other military folks will name drop Colonel Muscovy like-- well, not all the time or anything, but I keep forgetting he’s anything but just My Dad That Moved The Family A Lot or whatever.” Olive shrugged. “I’d really hoped it I was just chosen from the applicants, but… if that’s the state of things in Kalos, then I _know_ it wasn’t my history.”

Tierno’s eyebrows poppe up. “Your _history_?”

Damn it. “Story for another time,” Olive said, clicking her tongue and winking at him, then adding in finger guns for good measure. Totally cool and casual, absolutely nailed it. “Anyway, if we’re done here, should we be  pressing forward? C’mon, I can show you two how to catch Pokémon.” That change of subject was totally undetectable and not at all awkward, and physically getting up and leaving the conversation was not in the least bit evasive. Sarcasm? Never heard of it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ...also I'm a dumbass who doesn't understand ao3 so I have no idea how to make augustine's letter actually look like it's handwritten. so yu gotta use ur imaginaaaation


End file.
